What a Tease.

I just received the latest Anthropologie catalog, and low and behold, the issue was designed in collaboration with Hatch Show Print! It's like Anthropologie is writing love letters directly to me. You already have me, Anthro, you already have me.

You can tell it's Hatch Show from a mile away from the very graphic design, and the colorful and bold wood type with lots of layering and texture. Look how gorgeous this cover is:



And the back cover, with that classic wood type lockup:


I love wood type and the variety and texture it creates, but I've never been totally interested in using it in my own work. It would be a constant battle of letting in too much influence from HSP.

It's interesting what's going on with studios like Hatch Show Print and Hammerpress, where their work, originally designed to be screenprinted or letterpress printed, is being offered to the masses in offset form. Although the original printing techniques elevate the work, the designs still hold in their derivative form. It's a coo to the solid design, but I'm not sure how I feel about these recreations. Sure, it makes the work more accessible with fast production, but to me, that defeats the purpose of letterpress. I love that each piece that I print is slightly different, essentially making them one-of-a-kind.

Of course, if Chronicle Books knocked on my door, asking me to lend them some designs for their gift line, I might sing a different tune.